And today's last word is a monumental donation. You'll recall that the Washington Monument was damaged in August after an earthquake here in Washington. Congress committed seven and a half million dollars to fix it, but expected the public to commit seven and a half million more. It turns out the public will be exactly one person. Billionaire David Rubenstein co-founded and directs the private equity firm The Carlyle Group.

The Washington Post reports he called up the National Park Service and said: you got a cracked monument. How can I help? The official announcement of his seven and a half million dollar donation will be made later today. He explains that donation by saying he's a history buff.

That's the business news on MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.